Introduction
Bill "The Buddha" Dickens is an American electric bass guitar player.
Dickens has played with a huge range of artists, including Pat Metheny, George Michael, Joe Zawinul, Janet Jackson, Grover Washington, Jr., Chaka Khan, Mary J. Blige, Freddie Hubbard, Al Di Meola, Dennis Chambers, Steve Morse, Randy Newman and The Hooters.
From 1983 to 1999 participated in three recording sessions of Ramsey Lewis: Les Fleurs, A Classic Encounter and Urban Renewal
He performed together with Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey and Oteil Burbridge on the concert "The Day The Bass Players Took Over The World".
Dickens usually performs using Extended-range basses, (or "ERBs"), which are electric bass guitars with more range (usually meaning more strings, but sometimes additional frets are added for more range) than the "standard" 4-string bass guitar. Bill Dickens is best known for playing funk (especially speed funk).
Books
- Bass Beyond Limits: Advanced Solo and Groove Concepts, Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., 1998, ISBN 0-7692-6493-X
- Funk Bass and Beyond, Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., 2003, ISBN 0-7579-1689-9
Videos
- The Bill Dickens Collection (DVD), Warner Bros. Publications, 2003